That Fateful Night
by Miss Prickles
Summary: An unseen yet recognizable figure was there the night Albert lived and Hilda died... read to find out who.


Author's Note: While taking a little break from my other fanfic, _Dance in the Rain_, I was browsing through other Cyborg 009 fanfics when an idea popped into my head: the night Hilda died and Albert somehow survived. A fanfic I read on Mediaminer came to mind (I can't remember the name of the fanfic but it was beautifully written) and I thought I'd try writing a fanfic about that fateful night.

Dedicated to 004 (don't get me wrong – I love the whole team but there's just something about Albert that makes him unique. Not to mention his determination to be human despite the fact that he was turned into a mostly mechanical cyborg).

**Disclaimer**: Cyborg 009 is the property of Shotaro Ishinomori.

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The moment the guard realized the identification was fake, he knew it was over.

He had been following Albert and Hilda for a week now, watching them carefully plan their escape from Berlin over and over, taking note of any mistake or suspicious move that would give them away. Alas, no matter how many times they looked over their getaway, he knew that it was no use.

He could not warn them about their impending doom, even if he wanted to out of sympathy. Their fates had to be carried out.

Death watched as the wheels of the truck screeched in the wet road, trying to obey the command Albert was giving them. He took out his scythe as he followed it while taking his time, knowing that the truck wasn't going too far. The vehicle smashed through the gate, then swerved from side to side as Albert tried to avoid the hail of bullets being fired at him by the sentries. The ammunition that missed the truck passed through Death, invisible to the guards.

Two rockets finally halted the vehicle: the first rocket caused the truck to jump a few feet in the air, while the second struck the rear, sending the automobile flying up, threatening to land on its back but the head landed first into a barbed wire fence before the truck flipped over on its back completely. An explosion followed, and Albert slowly crawled out of the wreck just as Death came running towards him.

He grumbled as he stopped to catch his breath, cursing the humans for making him run somewhere in between breaths. He looked up and saw that Albert was still very much alive.

_As he should be_, thought Death as he looked over to the cargo section of the wrecked vehicle, feeling the fleeting life of the woman inside.

Death watched Albert slowly open the doors of the cargo bay, calling out to his dying fiancée. He helped the weakened man open the doors, knowing he didn't have much strength left in him – the only thing that kept him conscious was the thought of Hilda's status. If he were to strain himself now, he would certainly die, and it was something Death could not allow.

_He has to live. It is his fate._

Albert's eyes widened when he saw Hilda and he tried to ignore what his instincts told him that very moment: she was dying, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Hilda! Hilda, hold on, please!"

Death watched the young man cradle his fiancée as she slowly opened her eyes, giving him a small spark of hope, which he expressed with a smile. Hilda smiled at seeing Albert's familiar face."Did… we make it?" she asked.

"Yes! We're out of that place for good! We're in a free country where we can do what we want!" Albert replied with hope in his voice.

Hilda smiled. "I'm glad… my dear… we're free now… forever…" she whispered while caressing the young man's face with her right hand. His eyes widened as he heard her broken sentence.

Death raised his scythe and banged it on the ground at the same moment Hilda breathed her last, her right hand landing limply on the soaked earth.

"Hilda… You can't die! We're supposed to be together! I shouldn't have done this… don't die! You can't leave me…

HILDA!"

The bell at a nearby tower tolled as lightning flashed the sky. For a brief moment, Death became visible but Albert did not see him, as he sobbed over Hilda's limp body. When the lightning was gone the specter became invisible again, this time standing next to the inconsolable man.

_Get up, mortal. You have a task to do._

Albert did not hear the words, but he felt like he wasn't alone. He looked around, but could not see anyone. Yet he could still feel someone's presence in the area.

"Who's there?" he shouted. If it was one of the sentries, God help him he doesn't kill the poor bastard for killing her!

_Get up. You must live_.

"Show yourself!"

Death sensed anger and frustration beginning to well up inside the man, and although he knew he wasn't supposed to, he decided to reveal himself to Albert Heinrich. He walked over to face him, and slowly he appeared before the German's eyes. The young man let out a gasp in surprise at the appearance of a cloaked and hooded figure from thin air, but the scythe and the visible skeletal hands allowed him to recognize who was standing before him.

"Why? Why did you take Hilda away from me?"

Death just stared at Albert as if he did not even hear a word. Albert repeated himself, this time yelling the words, hoping that the apparition would understand what he was feeling at the moment.

"It was not by my choice that Hilda had to die. It was her fate, as it was yours to live."

Albert glared at Death. "What do you mean it was her fate? She's supposed to live with me!" he yelled. Death shook his head.

"You survived the accident because you have an important purpose to fulfill, Albert Heinrich," he replied, as lightning flashed in the sky again, and Albert swore he saw a skull underneath the hood. Death took one step closer, making the German flinch.

"You will not be able to understand what I am saying to you now, Albert Heinrich, but one day, you will come to realize why you survived tonight," he added, as the distant sounds of sirens could be heard, getting louder and louder. Albert remembered the guards and immediately one thought came to his mind: he was going to be locked up for attempting to escape.

Death turned his head to the source of the sirens. "Do not worry about them. They will not find you here, and you won't remember this conversation between us," he said, turning around to leave.

"Wait."

The apparition stopped in his tracks.

"When I die… will I see Hilda again?"

Death feigned a response as he slowly disappeared. It was a question that was best left unanswered.

Moments later, Black Ghost agents showed up and whisked Albert away before the authorities could reach the crash site. The guards were baffled as to how only one body was found, and strangely enough, the black markings on the cargo door that were oddly shaped like skeletal hands.

- owari -

I had to watch the episode "Tears of Steel" and replay it over and over just to be able to write out the last moments between Hilda and Albert. It's definitely a tearjerker episode (one of my favorites) because of Hilda's death and Albert's loss.

Please review and let me know how I did with this one-shot.

the-pen-and-papers-workshop


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